Dog lead



July 14, 1942." I c. H.INORTON -2,289,802

DOG LEAD Filed Feb. 4, 1941 INVENTOR (#55 T5)? H. NOR TON ATTORNEYS Patented July 14, 1942 2,289,802 DOG-LEAD "Ch'es'te'rH. NortonfKatonah, N. Y.

Application February 4, 1941, Serial No. 377,313

I 4 Claims. (01. 119-109) My present invention relates to leads, or

leashes, for dogs and comprises a simple, attractivelead that may be economically manufactured and that is-suitable foruseas a show lead'and also as a combined leash and collar-for ordinary exercising of the dog.

-A featureof the invention is the provision, in asingle length ofcord, of a collar port-ion and a' leash portion.

A furtherfeature of the invention is the ease with which the-size of the collar portion maybe varied to suit the size of the neck of the dog or to vary the tightness of the collar on the dog.

Other features, including the ease of manufacture and'the relative cheapness of the material that may be employed, will be readily understood from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing.

Fig. 1 is -a perspective view of a complete lead embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates the method of adjusting the size of the collar'portion;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail View of thejunction of lead and collar;

Fig. 4 isa sectional view'taken'along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 showing the catch; and

Fig. 5 illustrates a step in the manufacture of the collar portion'of' the lead.

As shown in the drawing, the new lead comprises a leash portion 2, a collar portion 4 and a hand gripping portion 6, all formed from a single length of cord of cotton or other suitable material. Pre-stretched polished cotton cord is preferred because of its strength and relative cheapness. Other materials in flexible cord form such as silk, rayon, leather, wire mesh or the like could as well be employed. In constructing the lead, a length say of 72 inches of cord is cut. The hand gripping portion 6 is then formed by folding back about 8 inches of one end of the cord and clamping the extremity thereof to the leash portion 2 by a metal clamp '8. The collar portion 6 is formed by inserting a fold ll) of the cord into a metal loop I2, then inserting the free end l4 of the cord through the fold I (see Fig. The end I4 is then folded over one stretch of the fold it! and secured to itself by a second clamp 8.

Each clamp 8, before it is pressed about the cord, is preferably of the form shown in Fig. 5.

That is, each clamp 8 is of tapering channel form,

preferably of steel, and is provided with a pair of reentrant spikes or claws l6 cut from the surface of the clamp, which penetrate into the cord when sion. the raw edges of the cordare concealed andthe clamp-compresses the single thickness of the cord atthe -narrow end of the-clamp as well-as the two cor'cl to be united. This type ofclamp whenapplied to thecord length by means of asuitable die press, holds the p'arts so firmly together that no slippage occurs when-thelead is under ten- Because of the taper'ing form of clamp,

thicknesses of the cord at the wider end.

These simpleoperations are-all that are necessary -'to complete the manufacture of the lead. To

adjust thesizeof the collarportiomthe fold I0 is -enla'rged, as indicated i-n'Fi-g. 2, and one or the cother side thereof is pulled through the metal loop H to vary the position of the loop along the length of cord. I

As shown clearly in Fig. 4, the loops i2, in the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated, isof rectangular form, providing an opening 'for-the passage of the fold III therethrough, of

which the greatest dimension is more than twice --and less than three-times the diameter-of the "cord. This prevents the pulling of a part of the collar portion through'the'loop when tension is applied to the lead and also helps in locking the loop inthe place to which adjusted. The loop l2,

stays in position even with subsequent relaxation of the tension. Thus the size of collar remains fixed until deliberately changed and no choking of the dog occurs.

The above described lead is superior in many respects to leads heretofore in use. An important feature of the lead, which results from the utilization of a single cord for both leash and collar, is the automatic adjustment of length of leash to size of dog. Large dogs should be lead on short leashes, both because they should be under better control than smaller dogs, and also because their necks are necessary closer to the hand of the master. Conversely, small dogs require a longer leash. With the combined leash and collar of the present invention this variation in leash length with size of dog is automatic, small, low dogs with small necks necessarily utilizing a shorter length of the lead in the collar and thus having a longer leash part, and large, high dogs with big necks correspondingly utilizing a much greater length of the cord in the collar part, withresulting shorter leash portion. The combined length of leash and collar portions of the particular lead above described is about 62 inches the clamp is pressed about the two sections of (about 2 inches of the original 72 inches having been taken up by the fold l and at the tip I4, and 8 inches being used in the grip portion 6). Thus, this lead when used on small dogs such as Pomeranians requiring about 6 inch collars or less, would have a leash portion of 56 inches, whereas the same lead on a great dane requiring a 26 inch collar would have a leash portion of 36 inches. In each case the leash length is approximately what is proper for that particular dog.

Another important feature of the new lead is that the entire collar, irrespective of the size to which adjusted, has a circular cross section. It is a Well known fact that round collars are preferred for all dogs and are absolutely indispensable for the long haired show dogs. The usual type adjustable round collar is necessarily flat at the buckle and for a considerable length of tongue, the length of the flat portion of tongue depending of course upon the degree of adjust-- ment permitted. With the new lead no flat portion occurs at any part of the collar and adjustment to every size of dog neck is possible.

As compared with the usual type of buckled collar, the collar of the new lead not only has a greater range of adjustment but also permits finer adjustment as the size of collar does not depend upon the number, or upon the spacing, of holes as in the usual collar.

The new lead makes an excellent show lead, particularly for dogs such as terriers, that are shown without removal of the collar. This is because, once the collar is adjusted to the size required, the lead may be relaxed while the dog is positioned for showing, without fear of the collar slipping or loosening on the dogs neck and the dog may thereafter be walked without readjustment of the collar size. Jerking 0r pulling by the dog will not cause tightening of the collar about the dogs neck with consequent danger of choking.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have devised a practical dog lead or combined dog leash and adjustable size collar that may be simply manufactured and which in the preferred embodiment thereof requires a minimum of parts, namely one length of cord, two metal clamps and one metal loop. Obviously, various changes in the particular construction illustrated could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.

Although the new lead has been described as for dogs, obviously it could be used as well for cats or other animals.

I claim:

1. A lead for dogs or the like comprising a single length of cord, a rigid loop of metal or the like slidably confining a fold of the cord, and means securing one end of the cord about a stretch of the fold, whereby the length of cord between said end and said loop forms a collar of adjustable size and the length of cord beyond said loop provides a leash.

2. A lead for dogs or the like comprising a single length of cord, one end of the cord being rigidly secured at one point to itself to provide a hand gripping portion, the other end of the cord being linked about a stretch thereof to provide a collar of variable size, and rigid means slidably but closely encircling both a stretch of said collar part and a stretch beyond said collar and serving when tension is applied between the hand gripping and collar portions of the lead to prevent change in length of the collar portion.

3. A lead for dogs or the like comprising a single length of cord, one end thereof forming a collar portion, the remainder thereof forming a leash portion and adjustable means for increasing or reducing the collar portion while simultaneously and correspondingly reducing or increasing the leash portion, said adjustable means including a metal loop encircling both a stretch of the collar portion and a. stretch of the leash portion and serving to lock the collar to adjusted position.

4. A lead for dogs or the like comprising a single length of cord, two metal clamps and a metal loop, one of said clamps serving to hold one end of the cord to a stretch thereof to form a hand gripping portion, the other of said clamps serving to link the other end of the cord about a stretch thereof to form an adjustable size collar portion and said loop confining said last mentioned stretch of the cord to hold the collar portion to the size to which adjusted.

CHESTER H. NORTON. 

